A massage chair with a foot massaging device is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2002-238963.
This massage chair has a backrest unit at a rear portion of a seat unit and a foot massaging device at a front portion, and the backrest unit is equipped with a massage mechanism that massages the back of a user and the foot massaging device has built therein a lower-leg massage mechanism that massages the lower legs of the user. Additionally, the backrest unit is reclinable back and forth, and the foot massaging device is provided Swingably in a forward direction beyond the seat unit via a supporting member.
Such massage chairs are not only used for massaging purposes but oftentimes used simply as chairs. In particular, this kind of massage chair oftentimes has a soft cushion built in the seat unit and the like and a reclining function at the backrest unit, and hence is suitable for use as a sofa.
However, the foot massaging device in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2002-238963 has holding depressions formed at the front, and the lower legs have to be fitted in the holding depressions even when the massage function is not to be used, which has restricted free movement of the feet and made comfortable postures difficult to take. This also has been a cause that undermines the appearance of the chair.
In view of this, and to address such inconveniences, the Applicants of the present application has already developed a technology such as in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 2007-75590.
The massage chair has a push-pull mechanism that is capable of moving the foot massaging device to a using position and to a built-in position located under the seat unit, and this push-pull mechanism has guiding tracks located at both sides of the massage chair, push-pull rods that move in and out along the guiding tracks, and carriage boards joined to the push-pull rods, the foot massaging device being connected by pin to the carriage boards.
Thus, with the foot massaging device located at the using position, the front face (massage face) and the rear face (footrest face) of the foot massaging device are rotationally switchable.